Police say 2 dead following North Little Rock shootingNORTH LITTLE ROCK — Police in North Little Rock have identified two men who died following a shooting. Authorities say 20-year-old Tupac Winston and 24-year-old Lamar Moore were pronounced dead following Monday’s shooting. North Little Rock Police Department spokesman Sgt. Brian Dedrick says officers received a report of a double shooting about 5 p.m. Officers found two men in a parking lot with gunshot wounds. Both men received medical aid an...

Hutchinson says 1,300 signed up for coding classesLITTLE ROCK — More than 1,300 students have signed up for coding classes under a new state law requiring Arkansas public schools to teach computer science classes, Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Tuesday. Hutchinson, a Republican who campaigned last year partly on a vow to expand computer science classes in the state, said the students have signed up for online courses. The state doesn’t have figures on how many students have signed up for in-pe...

Teen charged with killing Conway couple held without bailCONWAY — A judge has ordered a 17-year-old to be held without bail on charges related to the killings last month of a Conway couple. Hunter Drexler, of Clinton, made his first court appearance by video on Monday since being charged as an adult last week with two counts of capital murder and other offenses in the deaths of Robert and Patricia Cogdell, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (http://bit.ly/1L3OrS9 ) reported. Drexler is set to appear in c...

Ted Cruz coming to RussellvilleTed Cruz will make an appearance today at 2:30 p.m. at Lake Dardanelle Pavilion at 2428 Marina Road in Russellville. Cruz is holding a meet and greet with Russellville residents as part of his presidential campaign. Cruz started a bus tour earlier in the week and will travel through South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma, with local stops including Little Rock and Russellville today, and then moving on to Oklahoma.

Town seeks creation of K-12 agriculture academyLITTLE ROCK — Efforts by a northeast Arkansas town to keep its school district failed in 2010, but residents hope a new state law will help resurrect their school system as a K-12 agriculture academy. The creation of such agriculture schools for elementary and secondary students is authorized under a state law that was passed this legislative session, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (http://bit.ly/1HBsGBx ) reported. The Weiner School District w...

Lawmakers promote schools with resolutionLITTLE ROCK — Arkansas lawmakers on Monday encouraged schools around the state to plan events aimed at encouraging legislators to spend more time in classrooms next month. Rep. Charlotte Douglas and Sen. Alan Clark encouraged the districts to hold the events to mark “Take Your Legislator to School Month” in September. Lawmakers approved the designation last month as a way to encourage lawmakers to spend time meeting with students and educators...

State ends home health care programLITTLE ROCK — Arkansas health officials announced Monday that the state is ending a home health care program that serves thousands of people, a move that could leave 2,300 workers and contractors seeking new jobs. Arkansas Department of Health Director Nathaniel Smith told workers with the state’s In Home Services program that the state would begin phasing out the program. “We have determined that the program is no longer sustainable for the a...

Entergy proposes power plant phase outLITTLE ROCK — Entergy Arkansas has proposed phasing out of its White Bluff coal-fired power plant in response to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Federal Implementation Plan on Regional Haze. The EPA plan asks the state’s largest electricity utility to install “scrubbers” — dry flue gas desulfurization technology — at the White Bluff plant in Redfield by 2021. Utility officials say that the cost would have been close to $1 b...

Jonesboro removes Bible verses from Facebook after complaintJONESBORO — The city of Jonesboro has removed Bible verses from a city-owned Facebook page after receiving complaints from a national organization. The Jonesboro Sun reports that the Madison, Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation complained in a July 31 letter about religious postings on the city’s Dispatch Jonesboro Facebook page. Mayor Harold Perrin said he was not aware of the religious comments and that they have been removed. M...

Seniors in Yell have Dyre needDARDANELLE — Kim Dyre traveled to Danville’s Leon Millsap Center from Dardanelle for a regional bean-bag baseball tournament. Dyre found herself getting into the spirit of the game and yelled, “Go Danville!” She didn’t know it would almost get her caught up in the middle of an exchange of some heated words. “She’s ours,” a senior citizen from the Dardanelle Senior Activity Center said. “Go Dardanelle!” Dyre yelled, trying to appease all sides....

Weather agency issues heat warning for todayThe National Weather Service in Little Rock has issued an excessive heat warning in effect today from noon to 7 p.m. along with a heat advisory from 7 p.m. today through 7 p.m. Saturday. Areas in the Arkansas River Valley are expected to have afternoon and early evening heat index values reaching 105 to 109 degrees. The combination of hot temperatures and high humidity will combine to create a dangerous situation in which heat illnesses are po...

GOP senator offers bill on guns, mental healthWASHINGTON — A leading Republican senator proposed a National Rifle Association-backed bill Wednesday that he said would make the federal background check system for gun buyers more effective and bolster programs for treating people with mental illness. The measure drew criticism from groups advocating stricter controls over firearms, who said it doesn’t go far enough and singled out provisions they said would make it easier for some unstable ...

Securing safe drinking water for allLITTLE ROCK — For three years, the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission has been working on a new water plan. At public hearings and during meetings with local business and civic leaders, the commission has gathered ideas on how to revise the current water plan, which was completed in 1990. The goal is to secure safe drinking water for all citizens and to address the needs of the varying economic interests in Arkansas over the next several de...

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From the office of Sen. Greg StandridgeThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Hector board approves hiresHECTOR — The Hector School Board called a special meeting Thursday and approved the hiring of five district employees. Following a 16-minute executive session, the board took the following action on the recommendation of Superintendent Walt Davis: • Accepted the resignation of Carol Killins as bus driver. • Voted 4-0 to hire Donna Chronister as bus driver. • Voted 4-0 to hire Brandi Boley as school nurse. • Voted 4-0 to hire Elodie Adams as hi...

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Courier Staff ReportsThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Griffin: Changes needed to Common Core standardsAssociated Press LITTLE ROCK — Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin said Tuesday that Arkansas should keep some elements of Common Core, but make improvements where needed to the controversial education standards and rename them to better reflect the state’s needs. Griffin, a Republican ex-congressman, said he’ll make the recommendations to a task force he’s heading that’s looking at the future of the state’s involvement in Common Core. Formed by Republican G...

Family gives $1.5 million to Arkansas Children’s HospitalLITTLE ROCK — Arkansas Children’s Hospital says it has received $1.5 million to help fund an endowed chair dedicated to research. Mary and Ross Whipple donated the money, which will be matched by the hospital’s research institute board. The chair is designed to support pediatric research in a number of areas. The hospital announced the gift Monday and said it was in honor of Dr. Richard F. Jacobs. The hospital said it is the first distinguishe...

Woman gets check in mail 17 years laterAssociated Press HARRISON — An Arkansas woman said she finally has received a check in the mail that she had been waiting on for about 17 years. Barbara Fraizer of Harrison said she received a letter earlier this month with a postal money order for $200. She told the Harrison Daily Times that she thought something was wrong because the man from whom the check was mailed no longer lived at the address in Des Moines, Iowa. But then she realized ...

Little Rock Zoo officials announce birth of chimpanzeeLITTLE ROCK — The Little Rock Zoo has announced the birth of a chimpanzee. The zoo said Monday that the male chimp was born July 18 to Mahale. The father has not been identified, but the zoo said officials believe it is Kijana — the alpha male chimpanzee of the group. The zoo is also asking the public to help choose a name for the baby chimp. The staff has selected three names — Jumoke, which is Swahili for “everyone loves the child;” Kgosi, w...

Man cutting grass finds body in Arkansas fieldCABOT — Pulaski County authorities say the body of a man found in a field near Cabot on Sunday has been identified as a missing Bryant man. Capt. Carl Minden, a spokesman for the Pulaski County Sheriff’s office, said Monday the man has been identified as Ryan Clemmons, who was reported missing to the Bryant Police Department this month. Authorities did not release any other details about Clemmons. A man cutting grass behind his home found Clem...